Small Gifts
by spaceman-earthgirl
Summary: Castle has always been there for Beckett so she wants to do something for him in return.
1. Chapter 1

Set after 4x13 and will be a two-shot. Enjoy.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or the characters.**

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"Good morning," Beckett said, smiling brightly as she greeted Castle and took her seat next to him.

"Morning," Castle smiled in return, handing over her cup of coffee, "what's got you in such a good mood?"

"Nothing," Beckett replied, trying to contain her smile but she couldn't, she was just so excited about this evening. She'd been planning this surprise for Castle for the past few weeks and with the help of Martha and Alexis, today was the day.

"Okay then," Castle said, grinning at her obvious effort to hide her smile, she really was in a good mood this morning and while he wanted to know why, he figured she tell him if she really wanted to. Besides, days where Beckett was happy like this were days she was even more flirty and playful than usual and he was looking forward to that.

She smiled at him again before she sat down and took a sip of her coffee. She closed her eyes and hummed in approval as the flavor hit her taste buds, Castle really did bring her the best coffee.

"Thanks," she said, gesturing to the cup in her hand, the smile still present on her face, one she was sure that would remain on her face for the rest of the day, especially with him here.

"It was my pleasure," answered Castle, immediately regretting his word choice due to the images that they brought to the front of his mind, the images only intensified by having watched Beckett drink her coffee with her eyes closed while she made that sound of approval.

Castle quickly shook those thoughts from his mind, not wanting her to see how much just being near her can affect him.

"Paperwork day?" he asked to distract himself, already knowing it was because they didn't have a case and he could see her getting files out to work on.

"Yeah, you going to stay and write?" she asked and he could've sworn she looked almost hopeful as she asked.

"Yeah," he replied immediately and even if he had had other plans for today, he would've cancelled them, something was different about Beckett and he wanted to stick around to find out what it was.

 **XXX**

He'd spent the whole day trying to figure out what was up with Beckett but he hadn't been able to work it out. He'd asked her questions, he'd asked the boys questions, he'd even spent an hour just sitting there staring at her but she'd given him no clues. She seemed happy, but that was something that was more and more common recently so it wasn't that, it was more how she was acting, trying to hide her smiles and he could tell she was distracted by something.

And why was she suddenly hiding things from him now when she'd been much more open recently? In the past he would've guessed that it was her retreating into herself when they got too close but he knew that wasn't the case this time, it was more like she was hiding something specific from him and maybe that was what was distracting her? He would've been worried if she hadn't looked so happy so he figured she'd tell him when she was ready and now he would just have to wait until she was.

"Plans for the evening?" Beckett asked as she was finishing up the last of her paperwork for the day. While paperwork was boring, she was glad that her plans for the evening could go ahead without the interruption of a case. She'd just texted Alexis, saying she was about to leave the precinct, so they could put their plan into motion. This started with Alexis cancelling her plans with her father so they knew he'd be free for the evening.

"Not anymore," Castle answered, as he saw the text from Alexis, asking if they could reschedule, "I was meant to have dinner with Alexis but it seems she has other plans now".

"In that case, do you want to have dinner at my place?" Her whole plan hinged on whether or not he accepted and she hoped he couldn't tell how nervous she was.

"Really?" Castle asked, looking over at Beckett with surprise, not expecting a dinner invitation. While it was true that they'd been hanging out a lot more out of work recently, he didn't expect her to want to hang out tonight after she'd been slightly off all day.

"Yeah, we can get takeout and watch a movie or something?" she asked, smiling at him and hoping he couldn't tell how much she desperately wanted him to say yes.

"Sounds good," he smiled in return, trying not to over think her invitation now and just go along with it, "you nearly finished?"

"I'm ready now if you are?" Beckett replied as she began to put away her files and shut down her computer.

"Let's go then."

Beckett smiled as Castle stood, packing up his own stuff as she did hers. Castle saw that she was about to pick up her jacket to put it on so he moved behind her, picking it up himself and holding it out so she could slip her arms into it.

He tried not to linger behind her as he helped adjust her collar, stepping back quickly once he was done. She turned around and thanked him for his help while she smiled up at him with a smile so bright, it was hard to think about anything besides pressing his lips to hers.

She turned away to gather the last few things she needed from her desk and Castle was glad, glad that it hadn't been him that had to turn away because he honestly couldn't have when she was looking at him like that.

It was times like this he wasn't entirely sure what she wanted, when she smiled up at him like that and gave him a look that looked extremely close to love and he wanted nothing more to grab her and kiss her and he thought that maybe that wouldn't be an unwanted occurrence.

"Ready?" she asked when she'd turned back to him and found him staring at her. Beckett wished she knew what he was thinking about because he had this soft smile on his face and she really hoped it was her he was thinking about.

Her word's snapped him out of his daydream and then he offered her his arm which she accepted and then they left the precinct together, arm in arm with smiles on both of their faces.

 **XXX**

They'd stopped on the way to Beckett's to get Chinese food and now they were on the way up to her apartment and she was incredibly nervous. Everything was going to plan, she'd received a text back from Alexis saying everything was in place for their plan so what she was actually nervous about now was what Castle's reaction was going to be.

"Are you okay?" Castle asked, noticing that while Beckett was still smiling at him, there was something beneath the smile that Castle couldn't quite place, it was almost like she was nervous about something.

"I'm fine," Beckett answered so Castle chose to ignore the fact that her hands were slightly shaking as she unlocked her door and let them into her apartment.

This was it, this was the moment that had had Beckett distracted all day and she was incredibly nervous about how Castle would take it. She knew he'd love it, it was more what he would think about what she'd done that was making her nervous.

Castle had just shut the door behind them and a noise brought his attention to the other side of Beckett's apartment. Then, out of nowhere, the source of the sound made itself known when Castle saw a golden coloured streak dashing across the floor, stopping at their feet.

A dog? What on earth was a dog doing in Beckett's apartment?

Castle's face was a mixture of confusion and delight as he immediately crouched down to pat the small dog that was bouncing at his heels.

"You got a dog?" Castle asked as he scooped up the puppy with one hand while the other held their dinner.

"No," Beckett answered, taking the food bag from his hand and heading towards the kitchen, leaving Castle with nothing to do but follow with the dog still in his arms.

"You're pet sitting then?" Castle asked, using his free hand to now pet the dog that was cradled in his other arm.

"No," Beckett answered again, the smile now completely gone from her face as she just looked nervous. What on earth did she have to be nervous about?

"Then why do you have a dog in your apartment?" Castle asked, now very confused, wondering if the puppy had anything to do with why she'd been in such a good mood all day. That actually made sense, he'd seen how happy Royal had made her and this dog was even the same breed as Royal had been.

That was one mystery at least, Beckett had been happy that she had a dog at home and that was why she'd also been distracted. Now the only question was whose dog it was and what was it doing in her home?

"Because she's yours."

"What?" Castle asked, his eyes snapping up to hers that had been on the dog in his arms, "she's mine?"

"Yup," Beckett said, still looking nervous, not sure how he was taking the news yet, he just looked shocked.

"You bought me a dog?" Why had she bought him a dog?

"I did."

Beckett stared at Castle as he stared back at her, waiting for the confusion to pass so she could see how he really felt about what she'd done. Because she'd just bought him a dog and that is basically her way of saying _I love you, too._

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What did you think?


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to everyone who reviewed/favourited/followed/read this fic, I really appreciate it and I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's also no longer a two-shot and will have a couple more chapters because I'm really good at letting my ideas get away from me.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or the characters.**

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"Why?" was Castle's immediate response when he realised that Beckett was being serious.

Beckett blushed in response and Castle was immediately even more curious as to what had possessed her to buy a dog for him.

"I saw how happy you were with Royal and it got me thinking that maybe you'd like a dog and so I went looking for a dog I thought you might like and maybe I should've asked you first but I fell in love with her when I first saw her and I knew you would too," Beckett knew she was rambling but she was nervous and couldn't stop, "and she was even the same breed as Royal which I thought made it even more perfect for me to get her for you and-"

Castle's arm wrapping around her stopped her mid sentence as he pulled her close and hugged her tightly, the dog in his arms now between them.

Beckett relaxed against him, her nerves vanishing as she wrapped her arms around him in return. She tried not to think too much about how close he was pressed against her, how she could feel how muscular he really was and how she wanted nothing more than to be pressed even closer.

"Thank you," Castle said, pulling back to look down at her as he spoke, hoping she could hear how truly grateful he was for this gift, how thoughtful of her it was.

"So you like her then?" she asked tentatively, still not sure she'd done the right thing. She'd given the idea of getting him a dog a lot of thought after she'd first had it and came to really love the idea. She thought it was a way she'd be able to spend more time with him outside of work, could open up to him more and have something to share with him, almost like the joint custody they'd had of Royal for the night. She was giving him the dog with no strings attached but she hopes he'll be willing to share the dog with her too.

"I love her," he smiled, his expression so open and warm that it had Beckett's heart tripping in her chest.

The grin that spread across Beckett's face at his words was contagious and soon they were both grinning at each other.

The look in Castle's eyes as he stood looking down at her told her how much he really did love that she'd gotten him a dog as well as telling her how much he loved her too. Usually this would be when she would take a step back, put that wall up between them again to stop him getting too close but she didn't want to do that, she didn't want to run from any more.

It took Castle minute to realise how close they were standing, still mostly pressed together, and he knew any moment now that Beckett would realise it too and would step back.

Castle was surprised when she didn't take a step, just kept looking up at him now with a soft smile on her face and so he forced himself to take a step back instead, using the pretence of having to place the dog on the ground who was now squirming in his arms. The puppy immediately started running circles around their feet, causing both of them to laugh as they watched.

"What are my mother and Alexis going to think?" Castle said, realising that he'd be taking the dog home to live with him.

"I spoke to Alexis and your mother already, they actually helped me get her for you."

Castle was shocked, Beckett really had gone to a lot of trouble for him. "And they agreed?"

"With a bit of persuading, yeah. And my agreement to help you out when you need it," she answered, knowing how much work a puppy was going to be. Both Alexis and Martha had agreed to help out as well so she thought between the four of them, they could handle it.

She'd surprised him yet again, "You're going to help me look after her?"

"Yeah, of course," she said, smiling up at him, "if you ever need anything, like someone to take her for a walk or look after her, all you need to do is ask."

"Does that mean we could do things like take her to the park together?" Castle asked, envisioning all the things they could do together with the dog, already planning on using her as an excuse for them to hang out even more together.

"On our days off, we can do whatever you want," she grinned, so glad that he seemed to love her gift.

"Whatever I want?" he asked, his voice taking on a playful tone as he leered at her.

"Almost whatever you want," Beckett revised but she's sure she's wouldn't be opposed to doing whatever her was currently thinking anyway.

"So, does she have a name?" Castle asked, realising that he hadn't asked that yet.

"Yeah, it's Zoe."

Castle paused for a minute, squinting his eyes slightly like he was thinking, before he responded, "I like it, it suits her."

He was grinning again after he'd spoken and Beckett couldn't help but think how adorable he looked, "me too."

"We could take her to crime scenes with us!" Castle suddenly said, almost bouncing in excitement at the thought.

Beckett narrowed her eyes at him, giving him a look that clearly said they both knew how Gates would react if they tried that.

"I'd probably be kicked out for good if I did that," Castle said, shuddering at the thought of how mad Gates would be.

Beckett chewed on her lip, trying to hide her smile, "don't worry, Castle, I wouldn't let her kick you out."

"Really?" he asked, a smile playing along his lips as he spoke.

"Course not, you're my partner," Beckett answered, the smile she'd been trying to hide now spread wide across her face which only caused Castle's smile to grow too.

"Do you think we could sneak her in to the precinct?" Castle wondered, changing the subject before he did something stupid like kiss her.

"We could give it a go," Beckett answered, "that's a lot better than taking her to a crime scene. And if we try it while Gates is out of her office, we'd have a much better chance of getting her in."

"You'd seriously help me sneak Zoe into the precinct?" He'd been half joking before but it seems like she's being serious.

"Sure, why not, we have to show her to the boys and it could be fun trying to hide her from Gates," she said, grinning at the thought of how Gates would react if she found them with a puppy, one that Castle owned.

"You're serious?" Castle asked again, noting the look on her face, trying to figure out if it was excitement over taking the dog to work or if she was just saying things to mess with him.

"Yeah, tomorrow you can bring her in if we have no case by then?" Beckett asked, suddenly kind of shy, it was his dog after all and it was up to him what he did with her.

"Sounds great," answered Castle, now actually bouncing on his feet with excitement, careful not to kick Zoe who was still running around their feet.

"Careful," Beckett laughed, bending down to pet the dog who stopped immediately at the attention so she scooped her up into her arms this time.

Castle suddenly remembered that they'd brought food home with them, "we should eat, before it gets cold."

"Of course," Beckett said, standing again before handing Zoe back to Castle before she grabbed the food that she'd placed on the kitchen counter to dish up.

She couldn't help but laugh when she heard him murmuring things to do dog as she was getting dinner ready, he really was cute.

"What?" he asked, looking over at her with a confused expression on his face.

Beckett had to press her lips together to stop herself from laughing, "nothing."

Castle gave her one last look before shrugging and turning his attention back to the dog.

Beckett grabbed the two plates she'd dished up and then headed over to the couch, instructing Castle to follow.

"Can she...?" Castle trailed off, gesturing between the dog and the couch, remembering what she'd said about Royal and the couch.

"Sure," she smiled, Castle immediately taking the seat next to her, placing Zoe beside him as he did so he could take the food from Beckett. Castle grinned as Zoe settled in beside him, resting her head against his thigh as they both began to eat their dinner.

 **XXX**

They spent the rest of the evening playing with the dog, Beckett having found the bag Alexis had brought over when she'd dropped the dog that had had a few toys in it.

It was getting late by the time Castle was getting ready to leave, the dog now worn out and in his arms again.

"You have everything?" Beckett asked as Castle packed up the dogs things but leaving the food that Alexis had brought over so that the next time he visited with the dog, they'd be food here for her. Beckett had made sure that Castle had enough supplies at his place as well so when the dog got home, he'd have everything she needed.

"Yeah," Castle smiled as he headed towards the door with dog and bag in hand. He'd called a car which would be downstairs any minute so unfortunately he needed to leave.

"I still can't believe you got me a dog," he grinned, something he'd been doing all night and Beckett was glad that she'd been part of the reason that he was.

Beckett just shook her head at Castle's enthusiasm, "I'll see you tomorrow at the precinct with her?"

"Yup," Castle grinned again, already looking forward to seeing if they can get the puppy into the precinct without Gates noticing.

They were at her door now and she reached out the pet the dog in his arms one last time before looking back up to Castle. The intensity in his eyes shocked her, the grin now gone and a serious look on his face.

"Goodnight, Kate," Castle said, his voice lower than before and Beckett's eyes widened as he began to lean in.

Her heart kicked into overdrive as he grew nearer but at the last minute he leant to the side and pressed his lips softly against her cheek.

"Thanks again," he smiled, his eyes darker than before and Beckett couldn't help but feel guilty at the look of longing in his eyes.

"Goodnight, Castle," she replied, stepping forward now to place her own kiss on his cheek, the slightly stumbled skin feeling rough against her lips.

She noticed some of the longing had vanished as she pulled back as he gave her one last smile before he turned and left.

Beckett closed the door behind him, turning to lean against it as the evening's events flashed before her eyes. She raised her hand to where he'd kissed her, resting her hand against her cheek as it still tingled from the contact, the same as her lips did, and she found herself hoping she'd get to kiss him again soon.

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What did you think?


	3. Chapter 3

This took longer than I'd planned to write but here's the final chapter. I hope you enjoy it.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or the characters.**

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It had been just over a month since Beckett had bought Castle Zoe and he was loving every minute of it. Between him and Beckett, his mother and Alexis, they'd so far managed to look after her with little interruption to their lives except for now Beckett and Castle spent basically all their free time together.

The day after he'd gotten her, Castle had taken Zoe to the precinct to show the boys (and been threatened by Gates when she'd found him with a dog in her precinct) but it was all worth it when Beckett had insisted on cooking him dinner that night to make it up to him. That was the first of many of what Castle swears are now dates. They have dinner together most nights now, whether it be at the precinct or at either of their apartments, there isn't a day that goes by that they don't spend some time together when they're not working.

Ever since that night with Zoe, they'd departed the same way, with one of them kissing the other on the cheek. It wasn't just that though, they were touching each other a lot more freely now too. He'd wrap his arm around her shoulders during movie nights or she'd reach out and snag his hand while they were walking Zoe together.

That was also something they did quite often now, walk Zoe together. It had now become one of Castle's favourite things to do, walk hand in hand down the street, talking about pointless things as they walked Zoe through the streets or around the park. Which was what they were going to do today, Castle was just waiting for Beckett to arrive so they could leave together.

A knock at his door signaled her arrival and he found himself grinning as he walked to answer it.

"Hey," Castle smiled as he opened his door to reveal Beckett standing on the other side.

"Hey," Beckett smiled in return, "you ready to go?"

"Yeah," Castle said, bending down to attach the leash to the dog who was now bouncing around at Beckett's feet, as excited as Castle was that she was here.

Beckett gave Castle a curious look as he bent down to pick up a bag he'd left by the door before he slung it over his shoulder, just smiling at Beckett again as he walked out the door.

"You're not going to tell me what's in the bag?" Beckett asked when Castle made no move to explain himself. She'd thought they were just going to walk Zoe in the park like they usually did but it looked like he had other plans. Granted, they'd usually take her for a walk before work and today was Beckett's day off so they had no other plans for the day but Beckett was still curious about what Castle was up to.

"You'll see soon enough," Castle replied and so she agreed to let it go for now, but if she didn't find out soon, she'd no doubt ask him again, she wasn't a fan of surprises.

They spent the next hour, walking hand in hand around the park, laughing at how excited Zoe always was to come here.

"Do you want to sit down for a bit?" Castle asked, taking off the bag and opening it, Beckett finally seeing what was inside.

"Ahhh," Beckett said, finally realising what Castle had been planning, "we're going to have a picnic?"

"If you want to," Castle replied, trying not to show how nervous he was that she could turn him down. They'd taken lots of walks together, spent a lot more time together than they used to in the past month but he was still scared about asking too much from her, pushing too fast when she wasn't ready.

"I'd love to," Beckett grinned, causing Castle to grin in reply before he handed Zoe's leash to her while he went about setting the blanket he'd packed out on the ground and organizing the food he'd made them.

Beckett took a seat on the blanket, smiling at how thoughtful Castle was, surprising her with a picnic. He was constantly doing that, surprising her and it was actually quite a romantic thing to do but Beckett tried to put that thought out of her mind for now.

Zoe rolled over in front of her, distracting her from her thoughts so Beckett started running her hand over Zoe's stomach, laughing when Zoe's paws tried to grab her hand and hold it to her stomach.

Castle sat down beside her once he'd unpacked everything, setting some food and water out for Zoe to eat while he and Beckett did the same.

They were halfway through their lunch when Beckett finally asked what had been on her mind since they'd sat down, "what's all this for?"

Castle just shrugged, trying to make it look like he hadn't put too much thought into this when in reality he'd been planning it for the last week, ever since she'd told him about her day off, "I thought it might be fun to do something a bit different today, and I thought a picnic might be nice considering it's such a good day out."

"Thanks," she replied, smiling over at him, "I think I needed this, getting out in the sun and having some fun on my day off."

"Always," he responded without hesitation and immediately Beckett's hearted started thumping in her chest, a reaction to him that was becoming increasingly familiar.

"It's also a thank you," Castle said, wondering how much he should reveal to her of himself now.

"For what?" She couldn't think of anything she'd done that he'd be thanking her for.

"For her," Castle said, nodding his head towards Zoe who was now resting against his thigh, tired from all the excitement of the morning.

"Castle, you already said thanks, you don't need to-"

He cut her off, "I know I don't have to but I want to properly thank you anyway. And it's not just a thank you for her, but for everything else you've done for me after that. I've had so much fun this past month spending time with you and Zoe and I hope we can continue to spend more time together in the future." As Castle finished speaking, he realised how what he was sounded and he blushed, suddenly finding a spot on the blanket very interesting.

"I've had fun too," Beckett grinned at him, reaching over to squeeze his hand and now it was Beckett's turn to become shy and blush as she said her next words, "and I'd like that."

They both sat there now with grins on their faces as they finished their lunch.

They packed up once they'd finished eating, Castle having suggested they go back to his place to watch a movie, but as they were about to leave the spot where they'd had their picnic, Beckett had an idea.

"Wait, come here," she said gesturing for Castle to come closer to her, causing him to look at her in confusion.

"Why?" She laughed at how suspicious he sounded.

Beckett held up her phone and waved it slightly at him, "for a photo, I want to document today."

Castle smiled softly over at her, the smile that melted her heart and always made her forget all the reasons they were meant to be waiting, which didn't seem like good reasons anymore anyway.

He stepped closer to her, picking up Zoe as he did to hold her between them and then she was leaning into his side as she held out her phone in front of them, both grinning as she took a picture.

Beckett brought her phone closer to her to make sure she'd taken a good photo. She grinned as she saw the picture, tilting her phone so he could see too as he put down Zoe, leash now held in his hand.

The photo showed both of them with huge, matching grins on their faces, Zoe held up between them and Beckett thinks that this is her new favourite picture.

"We make a cute couple," Castle commented, the words slipping past his lips before he could stop them.

He turned, looking horrified down at Beckett as he hurried to explain, to take back what he'd said, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that, I-"

His words were cut off by her lips pressing against his, staying their until he responded, his lips pressing back against hers as his free hand came up to cup her face.

They broke apart not long later, both breathing heavily and Castle was now staring down at her with an awestruck look on his face.

"What was that for?" he asked once he'd found his voice again, his hand still resting against her cheek, not willing to break contact with her just yet.

"Because I don't want you to have to censor yourself around me, not when we both have feelings for each other that run much deeper than just friendship." Beckett wasn't entirely sure why it had taken her this long to tell him how she really felt, or why it was now that she was telling him, but she was glad he'd finally know how she felt for him in return.

"What?" Was she really saying what he thought she was?

"Do you want me to say it again?" Beckett asked, trying to hide her smile at the dumbfounded look still on his face.

"No," Castle said, shaking his head at her, a smile now spreading across his face at exactly what she was saying and what it meant for them. And it was funny, all of this had started, they were only in this particular moment, because she'd bought him a dog. He wondered how long it would've taken them to get here if she hadn't. "But I do know what you can do again."

"What?"

"Kiss me."

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Thanks for reading, let me know what you thought :)


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